- Discover more great music in our Proper Music store, and read about the very best of Proper Music's latest and forthcoming releases in Properganda Issue 19 (online flash version).
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Product details
|
Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Body And Soul | |||
| 2. Dinah | |||
| 3. When Day Is Done | |||
| 4. Smack | |||
| 5. I Surrender Dear | |||
See all 22 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. Sweet Lorraine | |||
| 2. My Ideal | |||
| 3. I Only Have Eyes For You | |||
| 4. 'S Wonderful | |||
| 5. I'm In The Mood For Love | |||
|
See all 22 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 3 | |||
| 1. Battle Of The Saxes | |||
| 2. Louise | |||
| 3. Pick-Up Boys | |||
| 4. Porgy | |||
| 5. Uptown Lullaby | |||
|
See all 23 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 4 | |||
| 1. April In Paris | |||
| 2. Rifftide | |||
| 3. Stuffy | |||
| 4. What Is There To Say? | |||
| 5. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams | |||
|
See all 22 tracks on this disc
| |||
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
There is a slight problem with the title Coleman Hawkins, the Bebop Years: this long look at Hawkins begins in October 1939, only reaching anything identifiable as the bebop years (Monk's debut on record, as Hawk's sideman, in October 1944) towards the end of disc 3. Looking beyond the vagaries of titling (and the budget price of these proper boxed sets helps one to look further), this is a well-chosen series of snapshots of a tenor giant moving from his absolute pomp ("Body and Soul", 1939) through years of consistently high achievement (early 40s) into the challenge of bop (on the fourth disc are four tracks of the wonderful 1945 sextet featuring Howard McGhee and Oscar Pettiford, plus the Hawkins all-star session with Miles and Max Roach) and finally back to Europe for a post-war reunion of sorts. Hawkins was fiercely competitive, even with old friends like Webster and Eldridge, so there is no slacking off of effort from the frontman. Additionally, one of the most notable developments traced here is a new and uncluttered rhythmic ease. He chose his phrases more carefully, went for contrast and drama with great precision and became the more telling soloist for it. This is a valuable four-CD document, in good sound. --Keith Shadwick
CD Description
Coleman Hawkins reached a new level of creativity during the 1940s. This box set focuses on those years, presenting the original master of the tenor sax in a wide variety of settings, including his encounters with young modernists like Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. "The BeBop Years" is another supremely crafted set with 88 tracks and a 56 page booklet containing the full Coleman Hawkins story, rare photographs and discography.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Yet again, Proper have managed to come up with the goods - 4 cds packed with vintage Coleman Hawkins material, 88 fantastic tracks and a well-researched and written 56 page booklet, all for this amazing price. If you're interested in the Hawk, I would definitely suggest you start with this amazing set!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
47 of 47 people found the following review helpful
An astounding value!
15 May 2002
Format:Audio CD
This is an excellent compilation of Hawkins' work between 1939 and 1949. Most of the selections date from 1943 to 1947 and were recorded for several record labels, including Victor, Bluebird, Okeh, Brunswick, V-Disc, Commodore, Signature, Keynote, Apollo, Savoy, Clef, Regis, Capitol, Aladdin, Joe Davis, and Selmer. Sidemen include Roy Eldridge, Benny Carter, Cootie Williams, Count Basie, Art Tatum, Oscar Pettiford, Teddy Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie, Budd Johnson, Ben Webster, Earl Hines, Don Byas, John Kirby, Jonah Jones, Buck Clayton, Thelonious Monk, Howard McGhee, Milt Jackson, Hank Jones, Harry Carney and Miles Davis. As you would expect with such a wide variety of source material, the sound quality varies a bit. However, it ranges from good to excellent and in most cases is on par (or identical:)) with the best previous CD issues of the same music. The set comes with a 56 page booklet that includes a lengthy essay with analysis of each session, several photographs, and a very thorough discography (you can read the complete essay and discography at Proper's website). The essay is good, though it could have used some editing. Also, the photos look like they were duplicated from printed sources. The most important thing, however, is that the music is consistently excellent. These discs show Hawkins at his absolute best, whether in a small group, big band, or solo. For the price the set is an astounding value!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Nobody ....
9 Jun 2010
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
... epitomizes the history of jazz better than Coleman Hawkins, from raggedy blues/vaudeville to bebop and a little beyond. Born in 1904, Hawkins jumped school in Kansas City in 1922 to join Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds on tour to Chicago. Through the late 20s and early 30s, Hawkins was the boss tenor sax in the very popular Fletcher Henderson swing band. Then he spent some five years in Europe, building an enormous popularity for himself there as well as a fervent audience for jazz that has endured to our own times. In 1939, he returned more or less permanently to the USA, and that's where this four-CD survey of his recordings during "The Bebop Years" begins.
Coleman had been a highly reputed journeyman jazzman for two decades when the first track in this box set, Body and Soul, was recorded by RCA in October, 1939. The final track on the fourth disk, Bah-U-Bah, was recorded in Paris, rehearsing for a European tour, in December, 1949. So "The Bebop Years" is not only a compendium of the Hawk's finest sessions -- 88 of them -- over a ten-year period, but also a survey of the evolution of jazz from a "high-toned low-class popular" music to the artistic heights that Hawkins shared with Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Monk, Gillespie, Gordon, and other progressive beboppers. The sax was, of course, the master instrument of the era, and it was Hawkins who first proved what the sax could offer. Hawkins had incredible chops, a rich rolling tone especially in his lower register on ballads, and it was on ballads that he sounded most harmonically adventuresome and original. But Hawk never totally abandoned his swing-era roots. He could play 'hot' or 'sweet' but 'cool' was not in him, and the 50's became a decade of neglect and disappointment for him. Unlike some younger beboppers, nevertheless, Hawkins was robust even to enjoy a revival in the late 50s and early 60s. But the 'avant-garde' of free jazz held no appeal for him. To put it bluntly, he gave up and drank himself to death at age 66 in 1969. The superb film "Round Midnight", starring Dexter Gordon and directed by Bernard Tavernier, depicts the last years of a musician who might well have been Coleman Hawkins.
The remastering of the assorted sessions, some in studios and some live, in this Properbox is extraordinarily clear and realistic. This is a fantastic bargain, a must-have for jazz lovers.
Coleman had been a highly reputed journeyman jazzman for two decades when the first track in this box set, Body and Soul, was recorded by RCA in October, 1939. The final track on the fourth disk, Bah-U-Bah, was recorded in Paris, rehearsing for a European tour, in December, 1949. So "The Bebop Years" is not only a compendium of the Hawk's finest sessions -- 88 of them -- over a ten-year period, but also a survey of the evolution of jazz from a "high-toned low-class popular" music to the artistic heights that Hawkins shared with Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Monk, Gillespie, Gordon, and other progressive beboppers. The sax was, of course, the master instrument of the era, and it was Hawkins who first proved what the sax could offer. Hawkins had incredible chops, a rich rolling tone especially in his lower register on ballads, and it was on ballads that he sounded most harmonically adventuresome and original. But Hawk never totally abandoned his swing-era roots. He could play 'hot' or 'sweet' but 'cool' was not in him, and the 50's became a decade of neglect and disappointment for him. Unlike some younger beboppers, nevertheless, Hawkins was robust even to enjoy a revival in the late 50s and early 60s. But the 'avant-garde' of free jazz held no appeal for him. To put it bluntly, he gave up and drank himself to death at age 66 in 1969. The superb film "Round Midnight", starring Dexter Gordon and directed by Bernard Tavernier, depicts the last years of a musician who might well have been Coleman Hawkins.
The remastering of the assorted sessions, some in studios and some live, in this Properbox is extraordinarily clear and realistic. This is a fantastic bargain, a must-have for jazz lovers.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
one major omission
24 July 2008
Format:Audio CD
I know I am being picky but there is one MAJOR omission. The session with
trumpeter Fats Navarro that produced the great Half Step Down Please.
Otherwise this is a wonderful collection of a more modern sounding Hawkins. At least they have the Dizzy stuff. Rember Hawkins was on the first bebop recordings and I also believe Monks first session.
trumpeter Fats Navarro that produced the great Half Step Down Please.
Otherwise this is a wonderful collection of a more modern sounding Hawkins. At least they have the Dizzy stuff. Rember Hawkins was on the first bebop recordings and I also believe Monks first session.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
